Running Away
by AdaliaValentine
Summary: All of the characters- trapped.  Rockfort Island is their prison, the infection their punishment.  Told through the eyes of OC Ryker Hadley, their lives are about to become a living nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

**Capcom owns the setting and characters and basically just Resident Evil in general. The only character of this story I lay claim to is Ryker Hadley.**

Prologue

I woke up to the explosion. It was deafening, and the tentative nap I had attempted to take was cut short by the searing pain in my left arm. I rolled over to my right side and waited for the pain and deafness to elapse. My ears popped and the screaming hit them in full stride. It was chaos outside my cell. I opened my eyes to smoke and coughed. I hadn't realized how thick my lungs were starting to feel until I saw the hazy darkness of my surroundings. Dragging myself across the ground, I made my way over to the bars that were once the door of my cell. I pulled myself up and took as deep a breath as I was able to. I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't care. Only one though consumed my mind: I had to escape.

Chapter 1

I ran outside to bloody chaos. Bodies littered the ground and wild shots were being fired from all directions. It seemed the security of Rockfort Prison had a breaking point. I ran around the corner of the next building and tried to decide on a plan of action. Moans interrupted my thoughts and I turned around in shear horror. _No_. It was a zombie- same as the ones from Raccoon City. _The virus had to of been unleashed here_. It was the only explanation I could come up with. The reasons for an attack on the prison were nonexistent, and my confusion only worsened as I tried to understand the circumstances for the Hell raging around me. The zombie was still coming, and since I didn't have a weapon, I figured I would have to be creative. I jumped onto the railing of the building behind me and used the force and weight of my body to push off of the wood. Bringing my leg around, I executed a jump turning kick to the zombie's skull. I felt my foot sink into decaying flesh, and I had to hold back vomit as I landed on my feet. Years of martial arts had conditioned my body to become a weapon in its own right- something that was both a blessing and a curse.

I continued to walk the perimeter of the prison, hoping to meet up with another living person. Most of the former prisoners or guards were dead, though some had turned into zombies. Luckily they were slow, allowing me to dodge around them. Running was something I enjoyed when they let the prisoners out for "outside exercise time." It kept my body in top shape, something that was paying of now. I looked over at a dead guard and resisted the urge to smack my head. _Of course the security would be carrying guns!_ I felt like an idiot for not thinking about it before. I took a handgun and as much ammo as I could find. Keeping the gun trained on the ground, I ran through the rain. It had started to pour as I looked for weapons. I had just rounded the corner near the main entrance when machine gun fire opened up on me. I ducked behind a doorway for cover and aimed for whoever was shooting. After I fired two shots, the machine gun fire stopped and I heard a frustrated yell. I ran around the gun complex to the stairs and waited for the person to walk outside. The doors swung open and a teenage boy ran out of the building yelling, "Don't shoot! I'm not one of them!" I smiled at the slight Canadian lilt in his voice and gave him a once over. It was obvious that he was harmless, and I took my time admiring his lanky but muscular frame. His auburn hair hung into his eyes, but I could just make out their frightened gray color. It was obvious that he was scared, but he seemed to be doing his best to stay strong. I wasn't sure if he had encountered any of the zombies, but I was sure that they were enough to freak anyone out. I waited until his back was turned to me to step out from my hiding spot.

"Don't move." I had my gun pressed into the back of his head and my mouth by his ear. I felt him stiffen and sighed. It wasn't my intention to make an enemy out him. After all, I _was_ just looking for someone to watch my back and help me escape. His appearance couldn't have come at a better time. "Sorry, you- you can turn around." He slowly turned with his hands still up in the air.

"So you changed your mind about shooting me, huh?" He smiled, "Damn girl, you scared me."

I rolled my eyes. He obviously wasn't aware of the seriousness of the situation we were in. "My name's Ryker. Ryker Hadley."

"Steve Burnside. Pleased to meet you beautiful." He held out his hand, still smiling.

I looked down out his outstretched hand but didn't shake it like he wanted. I wasn't used to friendliness. In fact, it had been a long time since I encountered any smiling face. "I know. I remember hearing about you and your dad. I know your entire story Steve." It was true. Guards like to talk, and they were my only window to the world outside my cell.

"Jeez." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground. "You been stalking me or something?" He sounded angry, and I figured his father and the entire reason for their capture was sensitive.

"When you've been here as long as me, you hear things and take notice. Listening to the guards' gossip is about the only thing there was to do around here."

"So if you've been here so long...what did you do to land yourself in a place like this?"

"Forget about it and don't ask again." I turned to walk away from him. I could go on by myself. My capture was something I was still trying to forget, though it was nobody's fault but my own.

"Hey!" He jogged up beside me. "You know everything about me. Isn't it fair?"

"No." We walked in silence to the main gates of the prison. "Stop," I said. Steve stopped and looked around.

"Why? What-"

"Shut up. I hear something."

We both turned our heads and listened through the pouring rain for the yelling that was coming from the building to our left. I motioned for Steve to follow me and we ran to the door. Each of us stood on either side of the door with our guns ready. We slammed it open and barged in ready to fire.

"You did this! I read your file. You bring viruses with you everywhere you go!"

"Please, no! Listen to me! We need to find a way out of here. I'm not the enemy!"

A guard was positioned over a teenage girl with his knife to her throat. Though she seemed to be holding his hand back, the guard was obviously crazed by the events raging outside. She couldn't hold him back forever.

Steve tried his best to be heroic. I could tell he thought the girl was cute, and though she was pretty, she was also soft. It was a trait I found to mean nothing more than a liability. I hoped Steve and this girl would help each other and leave me to find a way out alone. I had been looking for survivors earlier, but I was tired of the partner work. "Stop right there. You need to-"

I fired my gun into the forhead of the guard causing blood and brain matter to splatter onto the wall behind him. Steve looked at me shocked, but I only shrugged. "He was crazed. It was only a matter of time before he became one of them. Are you okay?" I turned to the girl who wore the same shocked expression as Steve.

"Yes. I think so at least. Thank you. My name's Rebecca. Rebecca Chambers, although what good are last names going to do in a situation like this." She gave a weak laugh.

"I'm Ryker and this is Steve. I'm taking it you were a prisoner?"

"Yeah."

Steve turned to me incredulous. "You didn't know about Rebecca Chambers? I'm shocked. No. Really, I'm shocked."

I ignored his sarcasm and continued to question Rebecca. "So you've dealt with this kind of viral outbreak before?"

She looked surprised, "How did you know it was viral?"

I ignored her question, "I take that as a yes. Listen, we need to find a way out of here. The main gate has some sort of lock mechanism on it that looks like it needs a key. You and Steve should head out together to look for it. I'll go by myself."

Steve looked at me, "How did you see it was locked? We came in here before we got to the door."

"It pays to look at your surroundings Steve. Let's go." Rebecca and Steve stood still, so I decided to head out the door on my own. They would eventually team up to look for the key. It was the most efficient plan of action.

I ran back into the heart of the prison past groups of zombies. It was lucky for all of us that they were slow, otherwise a lot of ammo would be gone. I ran into different buildings trying my luck in searching for the key but to no avail. I had no clue where it could have been. I walked back to the main gate. If Steve and Rebecca had any luck with finding the key, they would be there.

Suddenly, I felt a hard kick to the base of my neck and I fell to the ground. "Dammit!" I yelled. I let my guard down when I should have known better. My vision was blurring, and I was struggling to hold onto consciousness. A muscular figure leaned down and brushed my hair out of my face, "Sorry sweetheart, but we can't be sure if you're one of them."

"One of who?" I croaked. I was surprised I hadn't blackened out.

"Billy, we need to take her back with us. If she is part of the Third Organization, she might have answers." I could just make out a blurb behind "Billy." It must have belonged to the man that was talking.

"Yeah, and if she isn't then she's just another innocent mixed up in Umbrella's shit." I gave a sigh before passing out. I could only hope that they weren't psychos and would take me back to wherever their safe house was.

**Wow so I've had this saved on my computer for a while now. It just took me a bit to put it up on the site. Reviews are very welcome! But please only constructive ones, no flamers! I'm sure you guys can tell that this is definitely non cannon. None of the characters know each other...yet. But that just makes for more fun! Also, if you guys have any suggestions of what you would like to see happen, just leave it in a review or message me. I am very open to your thoughts, opinions, and ideas! Hmmm...Oh, and of course, please tell me what you think of Ryker. She's my very own creation, so I'd love to see how people respond to her. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Capcom owns the setting and characters and basically just Resident Evil in general. The only character of this story I lay claim to is Ryker Hadley.**

Chapter 2

"Wake up. Wake up now," A soft, feminine voice whispered in my ear. I blinked my eyes open a couple times and stared into a blinding white light. "Good you're awake." A woman with brown hair leaned over me and smiled. I could only make out wide blue eyes before the room around me blurred together and I passed out once again.

When I woke up once more, there was a man sitting at the edge of the bed cleaning his nails with a knife. I smiled and croaked out to him, "You don't have to put on a tough guy act for me. You knocked me out. I believe you mean business." He smiled without looking up at me.

Finally he closed the knife and looked over at me. "The name's Billy." He held out his hand for me to shake, but then seemed to realize how ridiculous his action was and pulled it back before I even lifted a finger. I admired his tribal tattoo on his arm. I'd always had a thing for tattoos and if it weren't for my job, my body probably would have been covered in them.

"Yeah, I could have gathered that. 'Billy, we need to take her back with us. If she is part of the Third Organization, she might have answers,'" I repeated the words his partner had told him before I blacked out. Billy looked impressed, "I was sure you wouldn't remember considered you were barely conscious."

"Well, there's nothing to be said for it now. I want answers. You don't just knock out one of the only other surviving people in Rockfort. We need to band together, not abuse each other." I glared at him. The politeness I used to take his guard down was gone. Now I was pissed.

"What do you want to know?" He seemed to be closing up again. Billy was a complex character. I was usually better than this with getting answers out of people.

"I want to know how you know you can trust me." This seemed to really throw him for a loop.

"You're forward, you know that?"

"I'm curious. I think we can both agree that we're not really talking under normal circumstances. Besides, it was obvious that you didn't trust me when you knocked me out. What changed your mind."

"We did a search on you. Found weapons, but that's pretty normal considering our "abnormal circumstances," he smirked. "It seems that you were just another prisoner, not Third Organization."

"And it doesn't matter to you what I did to land myself in here," I whispered, berating myself for sounding weak. My imprisonment was a sore spot though, and maybe I could use that to my advantage. Though I didn't do damsel in distress, it was obvious that Billy was macho and would love having a girl he could save.

"Hey," he whispered, his eyes softening, "We all have our stories. It's alright." He reached up like he was going to touch my hair, but pulled his hand back. My weak, gentle act wasn't convincing enough.

"Thank you for bringing me back here. I think that if you hadn't brought me back here, I might have died out there." Billy's chest swelled with pride, though he tried to hide it. I smirked to myself. _He must get ego boosts from being a "good man."_

"Actually you seemed to be doing just fine out there on your own. Your act isn't going to work on me." A man stepped inside the room and stood beside my bed. I berated myself for not noticing him standing in the doorway. He must have been well trained with the government for me to not have noticed him. And did he ever look well trained. My eyes scanned his body approvingly and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Just sizing up a possible threat." I said, all traces of my act gone. Billy seemed startled and confused.

"Billy leave us for a second," the man said, never taking his eyes off of mine. Billy slowly made his way to the door and looked back at me once more before closing it. I sighed; all the progress I had made with Billy was probably shot to Hell with the appearance of the stranger.

"So," I spat.

"The names Leon. Leon S. Kennedy." His arms were crossed and stance defensive.

"Ryker Hadley," I glared up at him. If he wasn't going to budge, then neither was I.

"I work for the government as an agent directly under the president."

"I'm a criminal who ended up a prisoner in the lovely Rockfort Prison."

"I came here with my partner after getting a call about a possible viral outbreak. We met up with Billy, an escaped prisoner, and have been hunkered down since trying to figure what the hell is going on."

"Who's your partner?" I asked, not really expecting to get an answer.

"That's not how this game works. Play along and tell me how you ended up here," his patience was wearing thin.; I could sense it.

"No." I looked up at him, my green eyes hardening. I'd rather die than tell him how I ended up at Rockfort.

"Jill!" He called for who I was assuming was his partner. Though his face betrayed no emotion, I knew he was disappointed with the outcome of events. A woman with bright blue eyes and chin length brown hair walked into the room. Her walked conveyed both gentleness and strength and I recognized her as the woman who had told me to wake up earlier.

"So, you're finally awake, huh? Billy told me how you played him. That's not nice," she grinned. I could tell she wasn't exactly a fan of Billy's. "Anyway, what's the problem Leon?"

"She's not cooperating."

"And we're what? In a prisoner of war situation? What isn't she cooperating on?"

"We're playing a game, and she's not following the rules. I tell her how we ended up here, and she tells me how she ended up here. It's simple, yet she's hiding the reason for her imprisonment."

"Leon, she's not part of the Third Organization. So what if she doesn't want to talk about a touchy subject. Let her go, alright." I silently thanked Jill for being the voice of reason. "By the way I'm Jill Valentine. And you're?"

"Ryker Hadley. Listen, as much as I would love to leave you guys and find a way of this island, I met up with two other people when I escaped out of my cell. Steve Burnside and Rebecca Chambers, both prisoners here. I could use some help finding them." I didn't know why I was worried so much for them. True, they were like children, but then, I had never felt loyalty or cared for anyone before, so why start now?

"Steve Burnside?" Leon and Jill both looked at each other equally shocked.

"Then the outbreak must have a political agenda behind I," Leon murmured.

"An outbreak on the island that's holding both Steve Burnside and Ashely Graham is too big a coincidence," Jill agreed.

I wrinkled my brow in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Leon gave Jill a warning look that she pretended not to see and turned to speak to me, "Steve Burnside's father was an Umbrella employee, in fact on of their top employees."

Leon interrupted her, "I take it you do know what Umbrella is?"

If only he knew how closely I knew Umbrella, "Some. I've been in here a long time though, so I don't know everything."

" Steve's dad had access to all of their intel," Jill continued. "That would be viral weaponry and all of the shit that goes along with it. Anyway, his dad decided to make a few bucks by selling information to Umbrella's competition. Bad move on his part. He was tortured, his wife killed, and his son- Steve- was sent here to rot away the rest of his life. Now Ashley Graham is the president' daughter."

I chuckled. "What's so funny?" Leon asked angrily.

I shrugged, "We got a new president. I didn't even know who the president of the United States was."

Jill and Leon glanced at each other before Leon asked, "Exactly how long have you been in here. You can't be more than 25."  
>"Probably about 7 or 8 years. I don't know, I actually kind of lost track. You reach a point where it's just not important anymore."<p>

Jill gave me a sympathetic look before continuing with her explanation of Steve and Ashley, "Ashley was kidnapped 13 days ago. We received some intel that she was being held on Rockfort prison. On our way here, we discovered that Rockfort was hit with a viral outbreak. So, for us, we figure out what's going on here and we get Ashley back."

I glanced at Leon, "You left her out of your reasoning for being here."

"I didn't think it was important."

"And you expected me to spill my guts to you," I rolled my eyes. He was unbelievable.

"With both Steve and Ashley being here, the outbreak obviously has a political agenda behind it connected to Umbrella," Jill finished.

"Well then," I said jumping off the bed, "We better start searching for Steve and Ashley."

**Thank you to all of my reviewers, subscribers, and favoriters (favoriters?). You guys seriously don't know how much that means to me. I'm also taking advice from readers on anything that should be added to the plot. I know I have introduced the Redfields yet, but they're coming- along with Sheva, Excella, Wesker, Barry, Irving, and the Birkin family. I think that I am going to have Sherry a little older in this story though. Anyway, any plot ideas, couple ideas, or just any ideas you guys have, send them my way! I want to make the story as interactive as possible.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_ I lied strapped down to the cold, metal table, seeing everything happening around me but feeling nothing. The doctors worked with careful precision- a cut here, a cut there, inject the needle in this vein, etc. I couldn't see their faces because of the heavy hazard suits they wore, but I knew who they were. I knew their names, families, dreams, goals, and histories. They were my friends and had come to be part of my family. They were Umbrella, and I trusted them with my life._

"I left them in this building before walking away, but they've obviously left to go looking for either me or the key to the main gates," I walked further into the decrepit room that Steve and I rescued Rebecca in. Leon and Jill followed behind me taking a look around the room with their pistols. "I haven't seen many zombies around here, so you guys probably don't have to be trigger happy with the guns. You'll end up shooting me or Billy before a zombie." Billy poked his head in from outside the door where he was keeping watch, "What are you guys talking about in there?"

"Nothing," Leon mumbled lowering his gun. I knew he didn't trust me, but the fact that Jill was on my side helped him keep his feelings to himself.

"Well then we're pretty much back to square one, aren't we? They could be anywhere on this island," Jill sighed. I felt bad for the woman. She was so relieved when I said I knew where Steve was. It was obvious that Steve was somehow part of the reason her and Leon were on Rockfort, but I needed more time to figure out how he factored in.

We left the building and did a once over of our surroundings. Billy said that he had some unfinished business he had to attend to and excused himself. Apparently, coming to explore with us was the first time he had been able to truly check out the island he was imprisoned on. Leon gave him a few extra clips for his gun and he ran off with a grin. Now we had no choice but to look to search the entire island of Steve and Rebecca.

I grimaced to myself as I designed a new plan in my head. Just looking for them around the island wasn't going to work. We needed something a little...quicker. "Alfred Ashford has a mansion on the island that is hooked up to every security camera in this place. In addition to that, he has an intercom that would allow us to communicate with whoever was wondering around this place, namely Steve and Rebecca. So, if we head toward the mansion, we head toward a greater possibility of finding the two of them."

"And whoever else could be on the island. I highly doubt the three of you were the only ones to make it out alive," Leon said.

"That idea's not bad. I bet we could even use the camera's to find Ashely," Jill perked up a little bit at the thought of getting one step closer to completing their mission.

Leon sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "Ashley's the president's daughter. I highly doubt she's going to have just been thrown in some random jail cell."

"Leon's probably right. I've been on this island a long time. I doubt they'd dump such a high profile person in with the masses. I mean, they might have locked her in a cell, but it wouldn't have been with the other prisoners."

We made our way to the mansion without much trouble. There were some zombies along the way that had to be taken care of, but between the three of us, they were no problem. We stood outside the mansion staring up at its hulking mass. The double doors intimidated Leon and Jill, though for Jill, an entirely different reason.

"It reminds me of the mansion the S.T.A.R.S team went to after the disappearance of Bravo. I don't think Bravo had any survivors, at least we didn't find any, but we went in anyway to investigate. Me, Chris, Sheva, and Wesker. Poor Sheva. It was her first big investigation after moving to Raccoon City. That's when we found out that Wesker had betrayed us. Not only that- that he had been betraying us all along!"

I closed my eyes. I knew this story. I knew it more than Jill, Chris, or Sheva. "Jill, we have to go in, okay. We're wasting time out here."

She looked at me in surprise. It was the first time I had ever snapped at her, "Yeah, right, just reminiscing I guess."

Leon nudged Jill's shoulder and glared at me. I looked away in response. It was best to just stay on neutral ground with Leon. I didn't want my anger to slip up and make me do something I'd regret. "Sorry, I'm just worried about Steve and Rebecca." I avoided their eyes and stepped through the doors of the mansion remembering a time long since past.

"_Watch your step. These old mansions aren't easy to navigate, but I assure you their splendor makes up for what they lack in common sense," Wesker held the door open for me, ever the gentleman- if that gentleman was brutal, cruel, malicious, and violent. He grabbed my arm, bruising it as he did so. "You will enjoy your time here, I trust. You've become a great asset to Umbrella, and I wouldn't want a guest to be uncomfortable."_

_ I yanked my arm away, wincing in pain, "I'm hardly a guest, and I'm sure whatever I need Alfred will make sure I get." I glared at him as I walked through the doors. I knew he just liked the feeling of having power over something or someone, but I couldn't help but wonder if I was different than all of the other experiments he handled on a day to day basis. I was no common experiment of course, but I hoped he saw me as something more. "Alfred is a fool who will not even notice you are here. He's far too busy worrying about Alexia."_

_ "Alexia? His sister?"_

_ "Yes, she was taken for the Veronica project years ago. It's just taken longer than any of us thought for her virus to reach full maturity." He held out his arm for me to take and together we walked to the room I was to be sleeping in for the duration of my stay._

"We should probably split up if we are to find the control room for all the cameras and intercoms," Leon looked around the grand room with a scowl on his face. "It's going to be a nightmare to try to navigate through these rooms."

"I'm not so sure splitting up is a good idea. We don't know if Alfred Ashford is still on the island and I don't think it's a good idea for any of us to run into him alone," Jill subconsciously took a step closer to Leon, uneasiness written all over her face.

"We don't need to worry about a map. I know this mansion better than Alfred himself."

"You gathered the layout of this mansion as a prisoner?" Leon looked at me skeptically.

"Not exactly, Leon," I stiffened at the sound of voice speaking over the intercom in the main hallway.

"Ry-ker! I thought you'd stay locked up forever in that jail cell," Alfred chuckled. "Well, I suppose you're a lesson that being friends with Umbrella has its drawbacks!"

"What is he talking about, Ryker!" Leon grabbed my shoulders with both hands and shook me, but I was frozen. Memories of the day I was locked up came crashing down on me.

Alfred continued to speak over the intercom, "Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine. Hanging around with our Ryker I see. Well meet Umbrella's newest pet you fools!"

A hidden door opened in the side of the room and a creature, mutated beyond recognition lumbered out. Its eyes looked as though they were blindfolded and its hand were tightly secured behind its back. It was only when it let out an anguished scream that I realized who it was.

"Alfred!" I screamed, "He was your father, you bastard!"

"Maybe once," came his simple reply. I drew my gun as Leon and Jill did the same. There was no telling what would happen to our shaky alliance after the battle, but I knew that we were partners for at least one more fight.

**So, read and review, and tell me what you think! I again thank all my readers. I like this story a lot, but you guys are seriously what keeps me updating it! I forgot my disclaimer at the beginning, so: I do not own Capcom! The only character I lay claim to is Ryker Hadley. Anyway tell me what you guys think, any predictions you have, characters you want to see, etc., etc., and I will try to update as fast as possible!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_I sat in the office fidgeting with my hands. It wasn't that I was nervous; I was bored beyond belief. Finally I was called into the room. As I walked through the door, I glanced around at my surroundings. They were extremely sterile and white. Sitting at a table on the far end of the room were Albert Wesker, William Birkin, and two other men I was unfamiliar with. _

"_Well?" Albert looked at the panel expectantly. "She's obviously the most qualified for the experimentation and completely dedicated to Umbrella."_

_One of the men who I didn't know sighed and turned to William, "Dr. Birkin, it's your call. This is your experiment after all."_

"_It's both my experiment and Albert's. Not only is it both of our experiments, it's not finished!" William leaned into the other members on the panel, spit flying from his mouth as he spoke. _

"_I say it's ready William, and Miss Hadley is the most obvious candidate for selection," Wesker was getting frustrated now, I could tell. _

"_Fine. Fine. We'll use her, but there's no knowing how she will turn out. But Albert, if that's what you want, go right ahead," William pushed his chair out and stormed out of the room. Wesker just grinned at the two men he was sitting with. Of course, with Wesker, a grin was never just a grin. _

"_Men, will you please excuse us. I need to brief Miss Hadley on the opportunity she has been given," The men collected their things and left the room through the door William used. Wesker and I were alone._

"_Well those men were helpful. Was it really hard deciding Albert? Did you use them like you do everybody else?" I was angry with him. It wasn't that I didn't want to be a part of the experiment, I just didn't want to __**be **__the experiment._

"_Ryker, if this experiment is successful, you will be more powerful than anyone could possibly imagine! Not only that, but when Umbrella's impending demise comes, you will have the ability to control the world they will no longer be a part of."_

_I closed my eyes and sighed. I knew that Wesker wanted power, but that didn't appeal to me like it did to him. I didn't want anything but __**him**__. And my love was going to kill me._

Leon, Jill, and I fired at the incoming monster, but our bullets did nothing to slow him. He was still advancing. Leon angrily looked at me and shouted, "What are we supposed to do? You should obviously know!"

"I don't though! I have no idea!" I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. Above all, I was angry. Alfred experimented on his own father like he was just some sick experiment. Looking at the outcome, Alfred must not have had a plan. He probably just injected various viruses into his father, eagerly waiting to see what the outcome would be.

The creature was still advancing toward us at a rapid pace. The guns weren't working, we couldn't run fast enough to get away, and Alfred would make sure that the monster killed us in as slow and painful a way as possible. I felt guilty for getting Leon and Jill into this mess. My own problems were hurting others, and that, I promised myself, would never happen.

I had no choice but to use my last resort. They would die if I didn't, and I knew Steve and Rebecca couldn't survive and make it off of the island alone. I promised myself I would never be a monster, and by letting them die, I would become the very thing I hated.

"You guys need to go find someplace in the room to hide," Leon looked at me, angry that I would even suggest such a thing, but something in my expression must have caught their attention.

"Come on, Leon," Jill pulled Leon away, warily watching me. I didn't watch them go. Instead I focused on the virus running through my veins. I began to change, my body twisting and turning, veins poking out from under the skin. My hair snaked together across my head as my skin changed to a dark shade of gray. My teeth grew longer and sharper, as did my nails. I looked at Alfred's father with red, bloodshot eyes and charged toward him. Raising my hand, I slashed through his face, cutting his head into sections. I didn't stop there; I had to be sure he would stay dead. I slashed and chopped his body until it was just a bloody pulp.

Shifting back into human form, I collapsed on the ground. My clothes were torn, hair knotted, and body bloody. I knew the monster didn't stand a chance against me, but I was hoping to never have to resort to becoming that monstrous thing again.

Leon and Jill slowly walked over to, and I lifted my head. They head both of their guns trained on my head. "Don't move!" Jill yelled.

I gave a dry laugh, "I save your life, and this is what I get?"

Jill looked guilty, but her expression stayed hard. I understood why they didn't feel safe around me. I probably wouldn't either.

Leon crouched down next to me, his head tilted toward the ground. When he looked up at me, I expected to see more anger, or even hatred, but instead I found pity. "Ryker, you need to tell us what happened to you. You need to start at the beginning."

"And if I don't?"

"We'll kill you without a second thought."

"I could kill you before you even took the safety off your gun," I said, glancing at Jill.

"But I don't think you'd do that, would you?" Leon was standing now, looking down at my hunched form on the ground.

"No," I admitted, "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything. It's about time I told someone."


End file.
